Does Life Have A Happy Ending
by nbrian72
Summary: Bella and Edward are new in the rainy town of Forks. They lived across from each other, meet, and click instantly, but there's just one problem, Edward is abused. By who? What will Bella do about it? ***Adopted from AltruisticE ***
1. Preface

Happiness... sadness... pain... love... That's what happened in my life. It seemed like the world stopped rotating and everything around me disappeared. All I could see was the dark shadow that stood protectively in front of me. _BAM!_ I screamed as the bullet hit my protector straight in the chest and cried as he fell to the ground looking lifeless and dead. Someone else stood in front of me but the same _BAM!_ echoed again in my ears. Blood sprayed at my face, and I screamed and cried louder realizing who was shot. The stench of the blood made me feel dizzy and I couldn't stay awake any longer. The shooter slowly approached me and pointed his gun at my head. I shut my eyes tight, tears still streaming down my closed lids. I wanted to die now. What's the point of living if you didn't have the people you love? The blood pulsing in my head from the smell of the rust and salt was too strong and staying continuous seemed impossible. I fell to the ground and pain struck my head. The last thing I heard were sirens ringing as the blackness began to takeover. That's when I thought of it... does life have a happy ending?


	2. The Rainy Forks

**BPOV - Age 14 going on 15**

Well, here I am. Forks, Washington population about 3,120 people, well now 3,121. This extremely small town is always under a blanket of clouds. In rare occasions the sun will dominate them. I'm Isabella Marie Swan, please call me Bella and I'm fourteen years old. I moved to this depressing weather town because my mom married a minor league baseball player, so that means he travels a lot. My mom always stayed at home with me when it's an AWAY game but I knew it made her unhappy, so I moved in with my dad, Charlie, who lives in Forks. He's the Chief of Police here, and he apparently can't cook. I'm glad _I_ can.

We arrived at the small white house I call home. I got out of the cruiser and headed for the trunk. Charlie helped with my three luggages and set them down in my room. He let me unpack in peace. As I looked around the room, everything still looked the same since I last visited Forks. The rocking chair in the corner where my mom used to rock me to sleep was a baby was still there, the many photos that I have taken and put up on the walls were in perfect condition as well. I sorted out my clothes and put them into the empty drawers of my dresser. On Monday I will be starting freshman year at high school and in two weeks is my birthday (September 13). I'm not so thrilled that I'm going to turn fifteen. I don't like all the attention, and I bet most of the town already knows I arrived since, my dad said he has been telling his police buddies, or whatever you call them, all about me and my move to here. Then they tell the next person and the next and etc.

I glanced to my window. I peered through it to see a ton if green hitting my eyes. The forest tree leaves were slightly turning different colors them since it's almost fall. An SUV and a moving van turned on the house across from mine. _I guess I'm not the only newbie._ As the SUV came to a complete stop, two adults came out of the driver and passenger doors. Then two similar looking kids who looked my age ran inside the house like they're having a race. Then a boy with questionable colored hair stepped out. I could tell that he was good-looking even from afar. _I think his hair is a bronzy color... I don't know, it's brown but there's red in it... I'll just stick with bronze. _He started to unload boxes with the movers. I watched him come in and come out of the house for who knows how long when all of a sudden he looked up and our eyes locked immediately. He smiled crooked-like, and I blushed and broke the lock too embarrassed. I smiled to myself and giggled like a school girl. I turn back to the window to see that he was already gone. My smiled faded. _Who was that boy?_

I looked at the clock on my nightstand. _Time for dinner!_ I walked out of my room and downstairs to the kitchen. I rummaged through the cabinets to see if they were stocked. Just some old uncooked spaghetti noodles, a box of granola bars, a box of Cheerios, a half full bag of chips in the pantry, and a carton of milk, a few eggs, a half full bottle of mustard, and two fish wrapped in paper in the refrigerator. I sighed just as Charlie descended from the stairs.

"Hey, I was thinking we could go out for dinner. Remember the diner we always went to when you visit?" I nodded. "Well, it's under new management and their food tastes even better than before."

"Ok, that's cool. I wanted to cook for you but there's not that much variety in the fridge."

"Oh, right, I keep on forgetting to stock up the food. I usually eat at the diner, but you just came you don't have to cook."

"Ok... and we could go grocery shopping tomorrow of you want..." He nodded.

"Ok," he checked his watch, "I think we should go now, it's almost 7." I followed him to the front door. I grabbed my coat and we headed for the cruiser.

The diner looked the same the last time I ate here. Nothing changed from the bar stools to the wooden walls and the antlers that were nailed to them. **(Imagine the diner from the movie)** We sat near the window and the waitress took our orders and of course she knew Charlie's name, and mine. He ordered his usual, steak, and I ordered a cheeseburger. We ate in silence not really having anything to say. After we were done, a berry cobbler was set in front of me. My favorite! I looked up at Charlie and he had the same thing. I dug in savoring the delicious taste.

Once we got back home, I checked the clock to see that it was past 8:30. I jogged up to my room and pulled out my worn out copy of Wuthering Heights from my luggage. I hopped on my bed and read.

I finished it at around ten since I read some of it on the plane. I yawned. _Wow, I'm tired..._ I changed into a baggy t-shirt and shorts and got my toiletries bag. I headed out to the bathroom only to find that it was locked. I knocked on the door.

"Dad! You in there?" I called.

"Yeah, sorry hon, it might take a while." I made a disgusted look and walked back in my room. I looked out my window. A light was on from the house across from me where I saw the boy. I opened my window to get a closer look, even though it doesn't really help. A dark shadow moved around in the house. The person looked my way and noticed me. He pulled back his curtains. When I noticed it was the exact boy from before, I blushed and hid my face. I peered through my hair to see that he was smiling. I lifted my head a little and he waved. I timidly waved back. He smiled wider. After a few seconds, his eyes widened a little and he looked back. He made an apologetic look toward me and pulled his curtains over. I frowned and closed my window. _I wonder what's wrong... He looked sorta scared..._

"Bells! I'm done. Don't worry it's fine in there," Dad said.

"No, I'll wait a few more minutes. I'm not taking any chances." He chuckled and went to his room.

"Ok, good night, Bells."

"Good night, Dad!" I sat on my bed and waited a few more minutes. I checked the clock to see that it was almost nine. I sighed. _Might as well go..._ I grabbed my toiletries bag and my pajamas. I headed for the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and took a shower. After I changed in to my PJs, my hair was still damp so I blow dried it. I went to my room and turned off the light. I laid down on my bed and fell into a dream that was mostly about the mysterious boy.


	3. Moving Across From Her

**EPOV - Age 15 - A few days before Bella moved to Forks.**

"HURRY UP, BOY!" My foster dad yelled from the SUV. I carried the rest of the boxes down to the moving van. I heaved them into the back carefully noticing the FRAGILE sign stamped on top of all of them. "BOY, IF YOU MAKE US LATE, I SWEAR TO GOD THAT YOU WILL REGRET IT." I ran to the back seat of the car right behind my foster siblings, Alec and Jane.

"'Bout time you showed up," Jane said poking her finger at my chest. I rubbed the spot where she poked me.

"Well, if you guys helped me we would have been on the road sooner." I seethed. They paused dramatically for a moment.

"Nah, we didn't feel like it," Alec said turning around to face the front. I slumped on my seat and looked out of my window. My foster family and I are moving, obviously. They didn't tell me where, all they did was punch me in the gut to make me shut up. All I know is that we will be on the road for a few days.

So here's my story. I'm Edward Anthony Masen. I hate the nickname Ed and please do not call me Eddie. My parents died when I was really little. I've lived in foster care since then. James and Victoria are the worst foster parents a child could ever have. They kick me and punch me and do other things that would cause me pain. Their twins, Jane and Alec, are no different from them, they actually cause more pain than them because they can also beat me up in school. Yup... I hate my life.

The rest of the drive was uneventful. I stared out the window the entire time watching the sky turn from blue to gray to black then to blue again. It took us about three days without stopping to get to where we are going. We were driving through a town. _Welcome to Forks?_ I thought as I saw the sign. _They named a town after an eating utensil?_ My eyebrows furrowed.

"Why are we moving here?" I asked.

"Because we are, now shut up!" James yelled the last part in my direction. I kept quiet the rest of the way.

We arrived at a small tannish house that was right across from a white house similarly shaped to this one. Alec challenged Jane for who could get the bigger room the quickest, so they raced out the door as James and Victoria stepped out of the car. I got out and James ordered me to unload some of the boxes, thankfully the movers were nice and help me out with most of them. It felt like time went by quickly, I noticed a girl from the house across looking out her window. When she saw me, our eyes locked. I gave her my weird, lopsided grin, and she blushed and looked away. The grin was still on my face when James came outside.

"What are you doing standing there? UNLOAD MORE BOXES!" I sprinted toward the van and quickly grabbed two easy-lifting boxes and rushed to the front door before he could yell at me some more.

I finished unloading the rest of the boxes thirty minutes after I saw the girl. _I hope I see her in school._ I walked up the stairs only just to bump into Alec. I slammed into his chest and fell to the floor.

"Watch where you're going, dickhead!" He yelled. He kicked me and jogged down the stairs. I hissed at the pain on the side of my stomach. _I hate him so much!_ I stood up with the help of the stair railing and explored the rooms. On the front of a door there was a piece of notebook paper that read, 'JANE'S ROOM.' Then another door said 'ALEC'S ROOM.' I peered through Jane's room first then Alec's. Jane won the bigger room. I looked if there was a room for me. The door in front of Alec's was ajar so I looked inside. _Master bedroom._ I looked in the room near the stairs to see a reasonable sized room but it was nothing compared to Jane's. _I call dibs on this one!_ I walked inside and peered out the window. I could see the house across from us.

Dinner was uneventful. No one really talked and when I try to make conversation they just told me to be quiet. Now I am in my room lying on my bed. It's the only thing that I have in here so far. I sighed and got up and paced the around the room. I like pacing, it clears my mind and relaxes me. I turned my head to my window to see a figure looking out of the window across from me. I pulled back the curtains. The girl from earlier had her window open and was looking at me. When she noticed I was looking at her, she blushed and hid her face. I smiled at that. She peered through her hair a little and I waved. She nervously waved back.

"EDWARD! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!" James roared from downstairs.

"Ooooh you're in trouble..." Alec and Jane said at the same time from my door. I looked out to her one more time apologetically and pulled the curtains over. I scowled at them while they smirked. I ran down the stairs not wanting James to get more angry.


	4. Broken Vase and School

EPOV

I hesitantly went through the kitchen doors to see James looking livid holding a broken vase in his hand. _Oh, shit..._ I stared in horror trying not to think of what he will do to me.

"What's this?" He said through clenched teeth holding up the vase and its detached pieces. I hesitated.

"Uh... a-a v-vase..." I stuttered out trying to stay calm, which is obviously not working.

"Yes... but... it's... BROKEN!" I jumped back at his sudden outburst. "Look at these!" He half-yelled almost shoving the broken pieces in my face. I cringed.

"Y-yes..." I said trying not to scream in terror.

"Do you know who did this?" I stared at him to scared to say anything. He narrowed his eyes till they were little slits. "I said... who DID IT?" I took a big step back while he took a step forward. My back was against the wall and I had nowhere to run.

"I swear it wasn't me! It was probably the movers" I yelled. He punched me in the gut. I slid down a little from the wall. The throbs from the other bruises from previous beatings started to hurt. I groaned in pain.

"LIAR!" He hit me square in the face which made me fall to the floor. I moaned feeling the pain. _I don't know why he's punishing me when I didn't do it! _"Admit that you broke the vase and I'll stop." He kicked me in the side. My face was only a foot away from the basement stairs.

"Ok, I broke it!" I yelled. I was expecting him to push me down the stairs, he did it before, but there was no more movement around me. I carefully got up from the floor groaning here and there. I painfully trudged up the stairs to my room and lay on my bed. I closed my eyes and dreamt about a better place with the pretty girl from across the street.

**BPOV**

**Monday**

BEEP BEEP BEEP! _Ugh! What the hell is that noise!_ I groaned while hitting the off button on my alarm. I got up slowly and dragged my feet down the stairs. _I am definitely not a morning person._ Charlie greeted me with a smile.

"Mornin' Bells!"

"Morning..." I slurred still a little tired.

"You seem tired." _No shit, Sherlock._ I nodded and sat down on the kitchen chair. The past few days last week were hectic. I had organized all my books in alphabetical order, and Charlie and I went shopping for groceries and went to Port Angeles to buy me some new clothes. A lot of people visited us to welcome me to Forks. _Come on, I've been to Forks before, and I was actually born here. You guys are treating me like I never been here before._ I had thought on some of the times.

I got up from my seat and started to make myself a bowl of cereal.

"Dad, did you eat?" I asked him. He looked up from his newspaper.

"Yeah, I have to go early to the station today," He said as he got up from his seat. I nodded and turned back to my cereal. I sat down on my chair. Once I was done, I jogged up the stairs into the bathroom, and I took a shower and brushed my teeth. I scanned through my closet and found a graphic t-shirt with a panda holding balloons shaped like a heart on it and a pair of medium wash skinny jeans. I brushed my hair until all the tangles and knots were out and put on some bracelets so my wrists won't look bare. I slipped on my worn out converse high tops and walked down the stairs almost tripping in the process. _Yes, I am a very clumsy person..._ Charlie was waiting for me by the door. I pulled on my raincoat and fetched my bag from the living room.

"Ready, Bells?" He asked.

"Yup, I'm so excited for school!" I said sarcastically. He chuckled and opened the front door. _Oh no! I have to go to school in the cruiser! If only I learn how to drive... _I slipped into the passenger seat and he started the engine. The way to Forks High isn't that far from my house so the drive didn't take that long. We fell in line with other cars dropping off students. Once we were near the entrance, I opened the door.

"See ya later, Bella. Good luck! You're gonna need it." I smiled weakly and made my way toward the doors. Once I was inside, I looked over my schedule and map. My first class is English and it's all the way north. I followed the signs and finally made it to the right room. I sat down in the nearest unoccupied desk and set my backpack on the floor. More kids filed in as the time passed. I checked the clock to see that there was less than one minute till the be-

_RRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGG!_

My thoughts were cut short by the bell. A tall but rather wide man stood in front of the class.

"Hello, students. I'm Mr. Klein and welcome to English 9! Hmm... that rhymed... Ok, these are not going to be your seats. I will assign your new ones..." He checked the clock, "...right now! So, come on everyone get your stuff and stand in the back of the room." He motioned with his hands to move back and we obeyed. He called the names in alphabetical order. Once he got to my name, I sat down on the seat and looked around to see who was in class. No one looked familiar to me. _No duh, you never actually went to school in Forks._ Yeah, I know, I was just pointing out the obvious. _Riiiight..._ I internally rolled my eyes.

"Hi!" I turned my head to who said that. A light brown haired girl who sat right next to me smiled. "You're Isabella Swan?"

"Yeah, please call me, Bella." She nodded.

"I'm Jessica Stanley." She took out her hand.

"Nice to meet you." I said while I shook it.

"So, you're from Arizona, right?" I nodded. "Aren't like people there supposed to be like really tan?"

"Uh... I guess..." Before she could respond to my answer. Mr. Klein spoke.

"Alright class! I'm going to give you a quick rundown of this week's schedule. Tomorrow, all of you will be getting your grammar books, and Wednesday, you will get you Literature books. Thursday I will be giving you some diagnostic tests to see what to have learned in middle school, and Friday will be a surprise!" One person cheered with fake enthusiasm making the class laugh. Mr. Klein glared at him. He talked about what we will be learning this semester the rest of the hour. After class, I met this boy named Mike Newton who, in my opinion, looked more like a golden retriever than a fourteen or fifteen year old boy with his blond hair and icy blue puppy dog eyes and pale skin that almost matched his hair, and he really needs to get his tongue checked out 'cause it keeps on hanging out like what an actual dog does. I bet he was born in the year of the dog on the Chinese calendar too.

My next class is Ancient History. I sat in an empty seat waiting for the bell to ring. A pixie like girl sat next to me. She had short, inky black hair that stuck up in all directions which made her skin look more translucent than it already is, she had a jean skirt on with black sheer leggings, a purple plaid flannel shirt, and purple ballet flats that matched her top. She looked like she was bouncing in her seat.

"Hi! I'm Alice Brandon! You must be Bella Swan!" the bouncing pixie said as she took out her hand. I shook it.

"Yes, nice to meet you." She smiled. She asked me a lot of questions and I answered them as best as I could. _Wow, she's a talker._

"Wanna sit with me at lunch, I doubt you know anyone here."

"Sure."

"Yay!" She clapped her hands rapidly. I giggled at her hyperness. The teacher came in and introduced herself. She had hair that was the color of... _caramel? Yeah, that's it!_, golden eyes, skin that was paler than mine and Alice's skin put together, extremely beautiful like runway model beautiful, and she looked like to be in her late twenties. What really got my attention was her eyes. _I never seen that kind of color for eyes before... contacts...? Maybe..._ My eyebrows furrowed.

"Good morning, class!" She said in a cheerful voice. "I'm Mrs. Cullen, and welcome to Ancient History! I will be taking attendance so just call so I know that you are here." She started calling off the A's then the B's. "Alice Brandon?" Alice exclaimed 'here' waving her hand in the air excitedly. Compared to the other tired students, including myself, she looked like a pixie that ate too many pixie stix. When she called my name, I murmured a soft 'here' hoping that she heard me. Apparently she did and moved on to the next name. The rest of the hour, she told us what we will be learning this semester and the next one. She looked like a pretty laid back teacher, she doesn't look strict or uptight. She told us she wants us to have fun while we learn. She's my favorite teacher so far...

Next is Algebra. _Great, I suck at it._ The class was uneventful just a bored sounding teacher named Mr. Grope droning on and on about what we are going to learn this year. He gave us some practice problems and we were to complete them by the end of the hour. _Wow, three problems that's sooo hard._ I thought sarcastically. I read over the first question. I brought my eyebrows together. _Damn, this is hard._ I groaned internally. I figured out them as best as I could and finished writing down the last number just as the bell rang. I pulled my backpack over my shoulder and handed the paper to Mr. Grope. I collided with someone as I turned the corner to the hallway. We both fell to the ground.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I'm a klutz. Are you ok?" I asked concerned. She lifted her head up to meet my gaze. Her hair was pulled up into a pony tail that was now messed up a little and her white framed glasses got pushed down to her nose. I glad I didn't give her a bruise or anything like that... She nodded quickly.

"Yeah, but it was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going," She got up and took out her hand for me to grab before I could respond to her answer. I willingly took it and she lifted me up with ease. "I'm Angela Weber."

"Bella Swan." She smiled.

"What's your next class?" I glanced at my schedule.

"Um... Spanish with Sanchez."

"Me too!" She beamed. I smiled back.

"Want to walked together 'cause I have no idea where I'm going."

"Yeah me neither, but I think it's near here, I'm not sure." We searched for the right room number until we finally found it with one minute to spare. We sat next to each other and talked about random stuff till the bell rang.

"Hola, class! Welcome to Español! I'm Señora Sanchez." After she introduced herself, she took attendance and told us what we are going to do this year and blah blah blah. Same routine over and over again. The bell rang at the end of the hour. _Lunch, finally!_ Angela and I walked to the cafeteria and grabbed our trays. Once we got our food, we looked around the cafeteria. I was looking for Alice. A little hand was waving in our direction calling our names.

"Bella! Angela! Over here!" We quickly made our way to her table.

"You know Alice?" I asked Angela as we sat down.

"Yeah, she's one ball of energy isn't she?" I laughed and nodded agreeing with her. Alice chatted animatedly with everyone sitting at the table which I noticed were some people in my classes. I smiled warmly at them and got back to eating my food.

"Hey, Bella! What's your next class?" Alice asked me.

"Uh... Biology, I think..." She formed a frown.

"Aww, I have Algebra next." She said still pouting.

"That's my next class!" Angela exclaimed. I smiled.

_RRRIIIIINNNNNGGGG!_

We hurried out of the cafeteria waving bye to Alice and heading off to the Biology lab. We were the only ones there except for a boy that looked strangely familiar. I stared at him curiously. My eyes suddenly widened. *It's 'him'* He didn't look up from whatever he was doing. I looked at him for a little bit more then Angela led me to one of the middle tables. We chatted about our teachers and I kept stealing glances at the boy. More people filed in and the bell rang.

"Good afternoon class! My name is Mr. Vanner. Now, first thing we got to do today is... two words," he held up two fingers, "Assigned seats." He started calling off names.

"Isabella Swan," pointed at a table in the back, "and Edward Masen." The bronze haired boy who just so happens to be my neighbor approached the table and sat on one of the stools. He looked at me curiously and I looked at him back. I sat on the chair next to him. He stuck out his hand.

"Edward Masen." He said. I shook it.

"Bella Swan." He smiled and I did the same.


	5. Stupid Blush

**BPOV**

As we shook hands, I looked to see that he was way, and I mean way, more good-looking from close up than from far away. His hair looked so soft that I could just run my hands through them forever and his eyes, oh my gosh his freakin' eyes, they were a sparkly green that I bet when shown in direct light that they twinkled and glowed. His face looked beautiful from his high cheekbones and smooth skin with not one single zit. He looked absolutely perfect while I looked plain. There's nothing really significant or out of the ordinary with me. _Yeah, brown hair and brown eyes are real special!_ I sarcastically thought.

"Ok, class!" Mr. Vanner called to get everyone to pay attention. I got snapped out of my thoughts and turned my head to the front. I realized I was still holding Edward's hand. He noticed too and we let go immediately with a blush forming at my cheeks. He chuckled softly and I blushed even harder. _Stupid blush! You always have to ruin everything!_

**EPOV - Before they officially met.**

I made my way to Biology class earlier than everyone else. I sat in one of the tables (well... all of them were empty...) and waited for the bell to ring. I heard two girls talking as they came into the room. That's when I saw her. She looked like the exact girl from across the street. I looked down immediately pretending I was doing something. She looked at me and her eyes widened. _Did she recognized me too?_ I didn't look up but I stared at her from the corner of my eye. She was still looking at me curiously. The girl with her led her to a middle table and they sat down and talked some more. More people filed in and the bell finally rang.

The biology teacher introduced himself and assigned us new seats. When I found out that I were to be sitting next to her, I did a little happy dance in my head. When she sat down next to me I stuck out my hand to introduce myself. She shook it and introduced herself as Bella. _Bella... it suits her..._ I examined her features as she was looking at me too. Her mahogany hair cascaded down the middle of her back in waves. Her eyes were not dull and boring but like melted chocolate pools. Everything about her was beautiful and perfect, and she's waaayyy out of my league. I got bruises covering my entire body, what girl would want that? Mr. Vanner called for attention. She turned her head to the front of the class. I realized we were still holding hands. We let go at the same time with a cute blush forming at her cheeks. I chuckled quietly and she blushed even harder. _She's so adorable when she blushes!_ Did I just think that? _Yes you did._ Yeah, yeah, whatever...

"Ok, class!" Mr. Banner said. "Now that we are settled, I would like to talk about what we learning this year..." Blah blah blah. The same thing over and over again. I glanced at Bella from the corner of my eye to see her obviously looking bored with her hand resting on her chin and her eyes drooping. I internally chuckled.

Before I knew it the bell rang and it was time to head off to my next class. I gathered my books and put them in my backpack. Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around to see Bella standing behind me.

"Um, so, um see you tomorrow, Edward." A blush crept on her cheeks.

"Yeah, see you." I said smiling. She blushed deeper and gave a small wave as she walked away. I sighed and slung my backpack over my shoulder.

**BPOV**

I headed for my last class which was P.E. I internally groaned. My lack of coordination definitely does not mix with sports; it never did. I headed for the field house which didn't seem that big to be a field house nor too small to be a regular gym. When I got there, most of the kids were sitting on the bleachers talking and all that stuff. A little hand was waving in my direction which I assumed was Alice's hand.

"Bella over here!" She called. I half-ran to where she was and sat next to her.

"Hey Alice!"

"!" I nodded to everything she said even though I didn't understand a word of it. A whistle blew and we were met with a tall guy probably in his mid-fifties or early sixties with old school basketball shorts on and a polo shirt, and he looked pretty tough, no pretty tough is an understatement.

"Alright everyone. I'm Couch Galvis. I have been the school gym teacher for thirty years and so don't give me any crap. You won't like it when I'm angry." He gave us a stern look which scared made my eyes widen slightly.

"Alright! Ok, I'm going to pass out a syllabus so you would know what you would need for class." He said and passed them out and explained everything on it. I zoned out after a few seconds. _Ugh! Same thing again! Thank God it's almost over._ After he was done, he let us talk for the rest of the time. Alice started talking where she left off before class started. I still couldn't understand her fast words.

The bell finally rang and everyone fled the field house/gym. Alice skipped out in ballerina grace. I tried to catch up with her. When I did we were already at the front doors. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my dad's number. It rang a couple times.

"Hey Bells!" said Charlie when he picked up his phone.

"Hey! Are you in the parking lot?"

"Oh... I'm so sorry, Bella. I have to work later than I thought I would. Some people found dead bodies sprawled out throughout the forest. What's weird about this is that there is no blood in any of them..." I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, alright..."

"I'm really sorry, Bells..."

"No, it's alright, Dad."

"Maybe you can ask one of your friends to take you home." He suggested.

"Ok, see you at home."

"Bye, honey." We hung up. Right when I put my cell back in my pocket. Alice bounced to my side.

"Hey, wanna come to my house?" I nodded.

"Sure. I don't have a ride anyway..."

"Your dad's not picking you up?"

"Nope, working late..." She nodded. She glanced out to the parking lot.

"Come on! I want to introduce you to my mom." She grabbed my hand and slightly dragged me to a very sleek SUV. She opened the door and let me go in first. "Mom! This is my new friend Bella!" she said gesturing to me.

"Oh, the chief's daughter?" Mrs. Brandon asked. She had dark brown shoulder length hair that curled at the ends, her eyes were a prominent gray when I looked through the rear view mirror. She had a soft face and perfect eyebrows that arched slightly as she raised them. Everything about her just screamed nice.

"Yes, he wasn't able to pick me up today because there was a problem in the forest." I said.

"Oh! Well, I'm Mrs. Brandon, Alice's mom, obviously, but you can called me Joan!" She has enough energy as Alice.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Br-, I mean, Joan." She smiled. After the introduction, Alice started talking animatedly to me. After a few random outbursts of excitement, she exclaimed something that caught my attention.

"OMG! We should totally go shopping sometime!" I made a face. She noticed what I was doing. "What's with the face?" I looked down.

"I... well, I'm not a very big fan of shopping..." I looked up and saw her jaw dropped and her chin lowered.

"Well, with all the shopping trips we are going to take, you will eventually learn to love it." _Was she serious?_ Well she does have a serious face on... _Yeah, yeah, I saw that._


End file.
